On Monday, hockey fans were hit with sad news over the passing of legendary NHL tough guy and enforcer Bob Probert. Probert, 45, succumbed to chest pains while on a boat on Lake St. Clair, Ontario. Probert's passing was shocking to many who enjoyed watching the hockey hitman pummel NHL players for 16 seasons.

Probert's passing got us thinking about his game and how he ranks among the all-time tough guys and enforcers in league history. The competition is fierce (forgive the pun), but where does the long-time Red Wings and Blackhawks bruiser sit on the top 10 list?

10. Scott Stevens

Stevens was the captain of three Devils Stanley Cup victories, but the 21-year NHL veteran is more known for being a brick wall that blew up players and destroyed careers.
Just ask Eric Lindros.
Stevens was the immovable object in the Devils' notorious trap defense. He forced players throughout the league to keep their head on a swivel or they run the risk of being laid out cold.

9. Chris Simon

Simon has been a journeyman in recent years, but he has become more notorious in recent seasons for taking players behind the woodshed. The 6'4", 235 pound Simon is known for his explosive hits, but perhaps better known for six suspensions during his career.

Simon made headlines when he received an NHL-record 25-game suspension for his two-handed stick attack on New York Rangers' Ryan Hollweg in 2007.

8. Tie Domi

Domi was never a productive player during his 16 seasons in the NHL (245 total points), but Domi was like the Tasmanian Devil on the ice. He feared no one and has no problems picking fights with anyone he saw fit. Domi accumulated over 3,000 penalty minutes in his career and left the league to the joy of many, many players.

7. Clark Gillies

Gillies was the muscle on the Islanders' dynasty teams in the early 1980s. He never racked up the penalty minutes like Domi or others ahead of him on this list, but Gillies could fight with the best of them. Gillies, who played for 13 seasons in the league, cracked bones, broke teeth, and threw fists with the best of them in the 1980s.

6. Dale Hunter

Hunter ranks second all-time in penalty minutes accumulated with 3,565 minutes over his 18-year career. Hunter perhaps is best known for his brutal cheap shot on the Islanders' Pierre Turgeon following Turgeon's goal in the 1993 playoffs.

4. Terry O'Reilly

Terry "Bloody" O'Reilly racked up 2,095 penalty minutes during his career. He is most known for climbing over the glass to attack a fan in the stands during the Bruins epic brawl in Madison Square Garden in 1979.

3. Bob Probert

Probert, who stood 6'3" and 225 pounds, was one of the vicious enforcers during his 16-year tenure in the NHL from 1985 to 2001. Six times, Probert went over 275 penalty minutes in a season and finished with 3,300 penalty minutes for his career.

He is on record for participating in 283 fights during his career, including 13 with fellow enforcer Stu Grimson. Probert was THE enforcer of the 1990s.

2. Dave Schultz

Schultz was a key member of the famed "Broad Street Bullies" in the 1970s. Schultz played nine years in the NHL, racking up 2,294 minutes (or 254 minutes person season). Twice, he went over 400 penalty minutes in a season including an NHL-record 472 minutes in the 1974-1975 season.
The 6'1" Schultz wasn't the biggest guy on the ice, but he sure went after guys like he was.

1. Tiger Williams

At 5'11" and 200 pounds, Tiger Williams was hardly the biggest guy on the ice but he will go down in history as the most lethal enforcer. Williams totaled an NHL-record 3,966 penalty minutes in his career including six seasons with 300-plus penalty minutes. Big shots and brawls were his specialty.